
This past week I experienced two incidents which reminded me of the spirit and motives behind the gang-stalking and infrasonic / microwave weapons harassment I have undergone for the past few years. The first took place in my local library (Phoenix Library, Main Branch, Phoenix, Arizona). I observed a fellow in the business section poring over business journals and newspapers related to the stock market. Obviously he was a businessman of some sort, the intense look as he read revealing deep personal concern and interest. A much older, poorly dressed man approached him, evidently a poverty stricken Native American, quietly asking for a small handout. His approach was timid and apologetic, motivated by necessity. The businessman, quickly becoming irritated, began to loudly castigate the old man, demanding that he find a job rather than look for handouts. It was a humiliating display. And, judging by the businessman’s tone of voice, it was meant to be. The older Native American quietly walked away, uttering no response.
Feeling superior to others is a dangerous thing. When we are convinced that others are less worthy than ourselves, it can create a cruel and domineering spirit as that brief episode demonstrated. A simple, quiet reply by the businessman would have been a sufficient rejection, and, would have preserved the old man’s dignity as well. However, the businessman saw no need to treat someone he viewed condescendingly with even a modicum of respect.
It was with that observation fresh in my mind that a second incident occurred the following day. This time, I was personally involved. I was driving in the South Mountain Park / Preserve (Phoenix, Arizona) this past weekend to photograph the spring wildflowers that are in bloom. The part of the preserve best known for spring wildflower displays, is only open on the weekends from sunrise to sunset. At other times, a locked gate prevents entry. I drove into this area (the gate was open) about an hour before sunset this past Sunday. A Park Rangers’ vehicle was partially blocking one lane just past the entrance, having arrived just before I did. The Park Ranger had left the vehicle, and was walking in a forested area near the road. I stopped and asked him if the area was still open. I was not sure what to make of his vehicle partially blocking the road. The ranger said that they were closing the road. It was 4:38 in the afternoon, more than an hour before sunset. To my thinking, this was an odd decision. So I asked why they were closing it so early when the sign said “open sunrise to sunset.?”
Well, in less than a minute, a second Park Ranger appeared, approached my car and joined the conversation. I simply wanted to know why, just as I entered the area, that the decision was made to close it, and not at sunset as the posted sign indicates. As the conversation progressed, my manner of speaking began having a pronounced effect on these two Rangers. Let me explain why. I am the sort of person who grooms and dresses himself with dignity at all times. I have taught public speaking for over ten years, and spent many years in corporate environments. I know how to communicate respectfully yet emphatically without profanity or disrespect. Simply because of the way I spoke and conducted myself, the rangers began to think that perhaps I was a high-powered official with the Parks Department or City government who had caught them closing the gate too early. They became overly apologetic and extremely helpful as a result. I could see that they were in fear for their jobs, and were trying to find a way to know what office I held or represented. In that moment, I held a measure of power over those Park Rangers. It was the same power that businessman held as he was approached for a handout by the old man. How should I use that power? How did I use it?
I did not want to leave those Park Rangers with the wrong impression. It would be wrong to abuse the power I held at that moment. I thanked the Rangers for their work and assured them that I respected their authority. I also assured them that I was asking out of disappoint because of not being able to photograph the wildflowers (near sunset is one of the best times of the day for landscape photography) and would honor their decision. What fleeting power I held in that moment dissipated. I corrected any false impressions they held and left on good terms with both men.
However, I must admit to the brief temptation to use the power I held over those men in that moment as a tool of humiliation. After all, I have been repeatedly abused by those who hold an authority like these men. Shouldn’t I, in some way, take it out on these men, if only in speech? Never may that happen! I firmly reject the lure of power abused, sticking to the superior principles I have been taught since youth. Remember the “Golden Rule?” “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” I strive to treat others the way I want others to treat me. Not the way I am treated. That “Golden Rule” did not govern the actions of the abusive businessman I had observed earlier. Nor does it govern the lives of persons employed in gang-stalking and psychological and physical torture. Offer ordinary people a chance to employ a cruel abusive power over others, and many will accept. It is an addictive thrill to abuse others, an alluring temptation to the imperfect mind and heart. Unless we make a concerted effort to adopt and stick to higher principles at all times (such as the “Golden Rule”), we will easily be lured by the abuse of power!